As Scottish first minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon prepares to deliver her keynote party conference speech in Aberdeen, it is reported that she is to target “aggressive unionism” on the UK government’s part to strengthen her case for independence.
Sturgeon will hit out at a “denial of democracy” from Westminster, referring to the UK government’s continuous unwillingness to grant Scotland a second referendum on independence in 2023.
Sturgeon has faced recent backlash from Conservatives both north and south of the border after saying in a BBC interview that she “detests the Tories and everything they stand for.”
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Nadhim Zahawi criticised Sturgeon’s choice of language as “dangerous”, while former Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson suggested that the first minister had “traduced a quarter of the Scottish voting population”.
Sturgeon later doubled down on her comments, saying that she was targeting “Tory policies and values, not individuals or Tory voters”.
As well as accusing Westminster of denying democracy, Sturgeon will also accuse the UK government of “full frontal attacks on devolution and basic lack of respect”, which she will blame for “causing tension and fraying the bonds” between Holyrood and Westminster.
The Scottish Tories have continued to insist that the push for independence from the SNP is “the wrong priority at the worst possible time” and that any suggestion of denying a referendum being an affront to democracy is “nonsense”.
Aside from reasserting the push for independence from a democratic perspective, the first minister will use the Aberdeen address to place renewable energy at the heart of a future Scottish economy and will reiterate the upholding of Scotland’s fracking ban.
An economic prospectus will be published shortly after the conference setting out plans for energy and other issues such as currency.
“Our economic prospectus will set out how we can build a new, sustainable economy based on our massive renewable energy resources,” Sturgeon is to say.
“It will show how in an independent Scotland, we can deliver lower energy prices and stronger security of supply.
“With independence we will show how we can break with the low productivity, high inequality Brexit-based UK economy - and use the full powers of independence to build an inclusive, fair wellbeing economy that works for everyone.”
Photo by Scottish Government on Wikimedia Commons
